Shipping companies switch to land routes due to Hormuz Strait crisis
Moscow (ANTARA) - Major shipping companies are starting to use land routes to transport cargo amid disruptions in shipping in the Strait of Hormuz due to the Middle East crisis, Financial Times reported on Sunday (May 17).
The report said that freight rates on the Shanghai-Persian Gulf and Red Sea route reached record highs this week, exceeding levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Clarksons Research data, the cost of shipping one standard container on the route rose by more than 320 percent from $980 (Rp17.1 million) to $4,131 (Rp42.7 million) as of May 15, 2026.
Major shipping operators, including Mediterranean Shipping Company, Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd, have opened cargo distribution routes from ports in the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman to a number of ports in the Gulf region.
The routes include connecting the ports of Yanbu and King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Dammam in Saudi Arabia, Basra in Iraq, and Jebel Ali in the UAE.
Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said that a large number of trucks had been deployed to support logistics distribution.
According to him, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have also eased access for trucks coming from Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey.
However, according to the Financial Times report, land transport can only replace some of the capacity of container ships and large cargo ships that previously served countries in the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
The British daily also reported that wheat traders are starting to divert shipments through the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman, which are then continued using trucks and small ships.
“There has been an increase in the amount of wheat arriving in Fujairah and Khorfakkan, then transported by truck to major UAE ports before being distributed to Qatar, Bahrain, and other Gulf regions by small ships,” said a ship broker in London as quoted in the report.
On February 28, the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran.
On April 7, the US and Iran announced a ceasefire, but the US continued to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. On the other hand, Iran implemented special transit rules in the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: Sputnik/RIA Novosti
Translator: Primayanti